Wandering
by Nekkyou Hiryuu
Summary: A story of a quest born from childhood memories and their contrast to the present. Title subject to change...
1. Prologue

I debated for a whole half an hour of staring at a blank screen whether or not to write a new story. As you can see…I have. Now…imagine a girl. No - a Zora. A young Zora girl, living in the shadow of her sister. I want you to imagine her feelings and thoughts, to embody the character. Imagine the actions she might take, the words she might say. Understand where this is coming from, and you may begin to understand a bit more about the sentient mind. But most importantly…read it. ~.^ Vamos, vamos!  
  
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~Wandering~  
  
Prologue  
  
It was cold all around. Icy, numbing, bitter. Even the strongest Zoras had to retreat into the warmer currents of the underwater caves. But even in that small refuge, there was no real heat. They were a people trapped under the ice for seven years…seven full years in the dark clutches of the ocean. Any other specie would almost immediately have succumbed to the harsh climates, but not the Zoras.  
  
And she was proud. No one went swimming anymore; they had to stay mostly stationary to maintain body heat. The few that took the risky journey to find sustenance were weakened quickly, and almost never recovered. Many had died, but she still hoped. She believed that Ruto would come back. After all, she was Ruto. The little Zora smiled at the thought of her big sister, nestling down further into the clump of sea-grass that she had adopted as her sleeping space for the past seven years.   
  
Others had died trying to break through the ice. It numbed so badly that they went all funny, and…just floated away. Lifeless. She had seen them. Of course, there was nowhere for them to float away to…the group's adults had the unappealing task of retrieving the body and stowing it deep in the caves, the caves crowded with so many corpses…  
  
She shivered, big sea-green eyes observing the small community. Her mother was known as nothing but Queen Zora these days, and had taken swift charge of the solemn group. There were few children like herself…but even if there were millions of children, none would play. What good would it do? A few other adults had split off into other regions of Zora's Domain, forming their own communities. Together, they formed a web of watchfulness. No animal went unseen; no shadow was unheard of.  
  
So you can see how impossible it was to miss when Ruto, Savior of the Zoras, returned from nearly a decade's absence. A strange man accompanied her, wielding a flaming staff. Her people were roused to movement, making vague laps of curiosity and amazement as the stranger struck the ice again and again with his staff…over and over in an almost hypnotic beat that sent many small creatures scurrying to their hidey-holes.  
  
But not her. She wanted to be brave for her sister. And then things would be normal again…they would play tag in the crystal currents, care for Lord Jabu-Jabu, have diving contests off the highest waterfalls, scare themselves silly exploring the deep, dark caves… They would be together again, just like before. Because, after all that time, wasn't she still the same old Ajitsu?  
  
Apparently not. 


	2. Thesis

^^ Thanks for all the early support! HAH! Look at this, I'm writing something! Without anyone bugging me! I'm serious, no one has pestered me for this AT ALL…kind of sad, really…;_;…meh. …ugh, I think this story needs a new title. Send help! -.- I'm sorry that this has been slow, but you wouldn't believe the writer's block that I've been having. It's tragic. x.x  
  
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~Wandering~  
  
Chapter One: Thesis  
  
"…Ruto?" Ajitsu peered around the corner into her sister's chambers, almost timid. Ruto had been frightening to her lately…different. The older Zora was still bossy and flirtatious…but different. She didn't like the Princess' eyes, didn't like what she saw in them.   
  
Part of her was angry…who was that Ruto, to treat her younger sister like this? She hadn't spent years under the ice, hadn't fought numbing cold and deadly currents…but a battle much more different. And it scared her. Ajitsu had never believed that there could be anything worse than years of imprisonment, watching everyone die as you managed to hold on…  
  
But, as she had heard, there were many things worse….monsters that killed or ate all proper life, who destroyed without a coherent thought in their cold brains built for murder…the Temple, filled with monsters and traps, awful vortexes that sucked you under and sent you away, and a giant creature made of water, ruthless…  
  
"What IS it, Ajitsu?!" Ruto called back irritably. This was another thing that worried the younger princess…Ruto had always called her Jits. She saw her sister's unmistakable shadow, cast against the far wall by the flickering of a torch fixed to the dry land.   
  
Everything had changed. After a few months, the Domain was completely normal again. Lord Jabu-Jabu was yet to return (Jits was particularly distraught over the news that the creature had vanished), but her father assured her that nothing changed for long in the realm of Zoras. So what was taking Ruto so long to come around?  
  
"Never mind." Ajitsu said lamely, darting off. It was getting harder and harder for her to talk to anyone, much less her sister. She sought refuge from the world behind the giant waterfall that flowed from the Zora's Fountain, wondering how on earth the torch in the small alcove was lit, or how it managed to stay flickering even though the air was thick with the fall's mist.  
  
No one came back there much…if anyone, it was just a bored Zora trying to find some form of entertainment. They never stayed long, even if they did come. The word seem to have been spread to let Jits alone, and she didn't really mind. What she needed was time to think, which could only be done alone. Sometimes if she closed her eyes and thought hard enough, she could almost feel the icy water trapping her like a cage, a cruel cage of ice and death and…  
  
"No." She told herself out loud, grateful for the loud noise the waterfall made. No one would hear the princess talking to herself. "That's over with." Nodding to herself as if in agreement with some unspoken statement, she dove out of the cave and into the main pool, watching the other Zoras go about their business for only a moment before swimming towards land.  
  
Zirya, the amiable shopkeeper of the Domain's only store, was always happy to see Ajitsu. The adult had never had children of her own, simply saying that Jits kept her busy enough. This had been true in the days before Ganondorf's curse on Zora's Domain…Ruto and Jits had nearly lived in Zirya's store, poring for hours over a strange garment from the deserts far to the west, or an ordinary scale mosaic of their own race. Whatever it was, they were always happy with Zirya   
  
"Hello, Jits!" Zirya looked up from a dampened piece of parchment, quickly setting it aside to welcome her young friend. "I haven't seen you around in some time. Parii's just made another mosaic, would you like to have a look?"  
  
"No thank you." Ajitsu hopped into one of the chairs behind the counter, leaning on its soft back. A small droplet of water tickled her fins as it dripped towards the sandy earth. "Zirya…how come Ruto never does anything?"  
  
"What do you mean?" The shopkeeper dusted a shelf idly before sitting in the other chair. "Ruto does plenty of things. You know that guarding the Temple keeps her busy, Jits."  
  
"…I know, but…" Ajitsu sighed. "She never does any of the things that she used to do…you know, with me." She fidgeted with her feet, almost queasy. "Even when she's home, she just holes up."  
  
Zirya looked down at the younger Zora, then smiled. "You might consider taking a look at yourself. What is it that you're doing all day? Hiding behind a waterfall, avoiding everyone?"  
  
"I don't -" Ajitsu began, but Zirya interrupted her.  
  
"I know you have your reasons, but so does Ruto. Don't you think the things that she's gone through are every bit as horrible and frightening as what happened here?"  
  
"Yes, but at least I try to talk to her." Ajitsu pouted, staring out the entryway. "She never does anything but sit in her room…" The young princess left off, puzzled by Zirya's angry frown.  
  
"You're being very selfish, you should see that by now if you're every bit as observant as you claim to be." She stood, straightening a bottled fish that had become pushed too far forwards on its shelf. "I suggest taking yourself down a few notches, young lady."  
  
Ajitsu stiffened, crossing her arms at being called "young lady". "I just wish she would be normal again."  
  
"Don't we all." Zirya replied dryly, laughing a bit.  
  
"It's not funny." Ajitsu objected indignantly. "You'd feel different if it were your own sister."  
  
The other Zora said nothing, she simply smiled and began organizing a display of glittering scale mosaics.  
  
"I mean it." She leapt off her chair, looking up at Zirya. When she received no reply, Ajitsu ground her teeth and stormed out of the store. A lot of good that had done…she walked up the steep path to her father's throne room. Maybe he would have something helpful to say.  
  
King Zora had not been imprisoned under the ice…but he had not been saved, either. He told a strange tale of red ice and blue flames, and a hero that had saved him from the eternal half-life. Ajitsu shook her head, taking the back passage directly to the "throne" of sorts, instead of wasting time with the traditional listening podium.  
  
The king was in his usual place…though Jits searched her brain many times, she could not remember ever seeing him leave that spot. A very official-looking Zora looked up from his seat beside the king, stopping mid-sentence.  
  
"Ajitsu…is there something I can help you with?" King Zora asked quickly, turning to face his younger daughter. "I'm going over some things with Aelo…make it quick?"  
  
Ajitsu sighed. She couldn't blame her father…he was perhaps the one Zora that she would never be angry with. He did what he had to do…his job. Unlike Ruto, she'd never held any resentment towards him. But she didn't like the other Zoras that helped him…they were too business-like, they didn't seem…right, for some reason. She sighed, shaking her head.  
  
"Actually, that's okay. I'll come back later." She nodded to Aelo, diving gladly into the watery tunnel that led to the Zora's Fountain.  
  
The Fountain was in better shape than it had been just after the spell over Zora's Domain was broken. The shores were immaculate, and the waters were crystal. No more icebergs remained, and the monsters in the Ice Caverns had been all flushed out…not that there were Ice Caverns anymore, but the point still remained. The only thing that was still in disrepair was the shrine to Jabu-Jabu. The general consensus had been to leave it alone as a memorial to the great creature. She climbed onto the old structure, looking with dismay at the empty spot where Jabu-Jabu normally could be found.  
  
Ajitsu sighed, leaning against a crumbling pillar that used to frame Jabu-Jabu's giant snout.  
  
"Maybe there's a reason you didn't come back. Do you really want to?" Ajitsu let her legs drift into the water, looking out over the saddeningly empty Fountain. "You've probably found someplace better…do you think that's what I should do?" She smiled, pretending the kind face of Jabu-Jabu was looking down on her. "Maybe someday I'll find where you've gone…it must be a wonderful place."  
  
Zirya was right…she was being selfish. She shouldn't expect Ruto to ever be the same, but why were they all expecting that of her? Because she was younger? So if she was being selfish, and they were all tired of it…it would be best if she were to leave, then. With this realization, Ajitsu smiled. The thought brought her no sadness or angst. On the contrary, it made her feel if someone had filled her with steam and she was floating towards the sky. Happy, almost. Free.  
  
Jumping back into the Fountain's waters, Jits began swimming for one of the many shorelines that dotted the place. She couldn't use the entrance to Lake Hylia without being spotted, and walking right out into Hyrule Field was beyond question. It would take them awhile to notice she was gone…Zoras often disappeared for a day or two exploring underwater caves, and no one made a fuss. So unless she told anyone, they wouldn't know. The secret gave her even more happiness to add to the plan.  
  
What had been the Ice Cavern was now a network of caves, completely submerged in the darkest of waters. Ajitsu peered warily inside, but dove right in. There was another exit, somewhere…there had to be. So it was no surprise to her when she ended up at a very dark dead end after a half hour of hard swimming.  
  
Panting, she drifted a bit closer to the obstacle. It was too smooth to be natural, too…perfect. Running a scaled hand over it in wonder, Ajitsu narrowed an eye with confusion. What was this? 


End file.
